Australia’s frontline carers are being made poorer in retirement because they miss out on super when caring intensively for loved ones, often for years, a new report from the Super Members Council shows.
The report, Unfinished business: Fixing gaps in the Super Guarantee, finds more than one million Australians still miss out on super simply because of who they are or the work they do.
This includes part-time workers under the age of 18 and domestic workers employed in private homes (cleaners, nannies and housekeepers) who work less than 30 hours a week, and Australians who step out of paid work to care for loved ones. Women are disproportionately harmed by these exclusions.
“Australia’s super system is meant to be universal, but today more than a million Australians are still missing out on the same guarantee as 17 million of their fellow Australians – simply because of their age, the work they do or who they are. That’s just not fair,” says the Council’s CEO Misha Schubert.
Currently, Australians who step out of the paid workforce to deliver constant intensive care to a loved one – care that would otherwise cost taxpayers vastly more to deliver with Government services - are being made poorer in retirement due to the loss of super they would otherwise earn. More than 70% are women.
Paying the 12% Super Guarantee on the Carer Payment would deliver an average $3,072 a year in super to 334,000 unpaid carers in the years they are delivering vital caregiving.
For a typical 45-year-old carer, this could boost their super by $45,000 more by retirement – due to compound returns - and mean less pressure on the Age Pension for taxpayers.
The highly means-tested Carer Payment is a modest payment that partially replaces someone’s income when they step away from paid work for at least six months to care constantly for a person with disability or medical condition, or a frail elderly person with intense care needs.
Like paid parental leave prior to 2025, this payment does not yet include super.
Women are three times more likely to have to take on informal caregiving demands than men. More than one-in seven women face primary caregiving demands between the ages 45 and 65, reducing their earnings by up to $40,000 a year.
The Council urges all policymakers to commit to paying super on the Carer Payment, arguing it is a practical and fair step forward to recognise the economic value of unpaid care.
While carers deliver essential support that would otherwise fall to the health and aged care systems, they are not treated the same as other forms of essential work when it comes to super.
The report also highlights gaps for gig economy workers, warning many Australians in app-based and contractor roles continue to miss out on super because they fall outside traditional employment definitions.
Creating a pathway for super in gig work would mean around 184,000 gig workers would receive an average of $2,220 a year in super — supporting a typical young gig worker to retire with around $38,000 more in super.
The Council continues to push hard to end the unfair super exclusion of part-time under-18 workers – an issue it has campaigned on heavily over the past year - and for domestic workers doing less than 30 hours a week for one employer in private homes as cleaners, housekeepers and nannies.
The denial of super for under-18s if they work less than 30 hours a week for their employer costs 515,000 teen workers nationally $405 million this financial year.
The research also shows around 37,000 domestic workers missed out on super in 2026‑27, and the overwhelming majority – 86 % – of these low-paid workers are women.
On average, each of these workers misses out on almost $4,000 a year in super, amounting to nearly $150 million nationwide, with women missing out on about $126 million in a single year.
Universal super coverage for all workers is critical to ensure a fair and effective retirement system, particularly for workers who are already at higher risk of being left behind — including young people, women, and those in insecure or part-time work.
Quote attributable to Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert:
“Paying super on the Carer Payment would be a big step forward for fairness that recognises the economic value of care and would make a real difference — especially for women, who carry the bulk of caring responsibilities. It’s a foundation stone to begin to tackle the carer poverty penalty.”
Quote attributable to Joanna Cave CEO Carers Australia
“With the recent cuts to the NDIS, many carers will be providing more unpaid care. Any initiatives that can help carers in their retirement are welcome.”
Quote attributable to Women in Super CEO Jo Kowalczyk
‘This report highlights the impact of workers missing out on super despite participating in the workforce. It also draws attention to the broader challenge of unpaid care, which continues to interrupt women's workforce participation and reduce retirement savings over a lifetime.
Quote attributable to COTA Australia CEO Patricia Sparrow:
“Looking after a loved one should not mean facing poverty in retirement. Superannuation for carers is a practical way to recognise unpaid care and help ensure more Australians can retire with the dignity and security they deserve."
About us:
The opinions above are those of the author in their capacity as spokesperson for Super Members Council of Australia (SMC). SMC, the authors and all other persons involved in the preparation of this information are thereby not giving legal, financial or professional advice for individual persons or organisations.
